Join instructors Kim & Chris Chisholm for a great day together. Kim holds a Wildlife Science degree from the University of Washington, where she studied crows and other corvids with the famed John Mazrluff. Chris has been studying Bird Language since 1988, starting with Loons while attending the University of Wisconsin, and expanding to song birds in 1992 when he moved to Western Washington and began tracking wildlife professionally.

In addition to receiving a great overview of visual bird identification today, but you’ll also learn to distinguish birds by their voices. In fact, when you understand the language of birds, you’ll know where animals (including predators) are hidden, plus other secrets. You’ll learn the meanings of bird songs, companion calls, alarm calls, and calls of aggression, among other vocalizations. It’s easy to do, and you can learn it all from robins, then extrapolate to other bird species which will tell you about raptors flying overhead, owls perched in trees, bears lumbering along trails, bobcats stalking through the brush, and weasels sneaking under downed logs.

Awesome Birding by Sight & Sound

Learning today will include Kim’s system for quickly scanning birds with and without binoculars to find the most important identification clues, then using Chris’ great system for knowing exactly where to look in your field guide to pinpoint the species. We’ll also talk about habitat as an indicator of identification, and help you develop a “baseline” knowledge of common bird songs and calls from which it will be easier to determine the identity of birds by ear. Finally, we’ll give ethical recommendations for attracting the widest array of birds to your yard for enjoyment and study, while also keeping them healthy and safe.

A Backyard Birding Paradise

The workshop takes place in a birder’s paradise, with a plethora of resident songbirds and accipiter hawks in the neighborhood, common yellowthroats and marsh wrens in wetlands, red-tailed hawks and bald eagles patrolling fields, great blue herons and belted kingfishers stalking the local fish hatchery, dabbling ducks galore in the public pond, and dozens of migrant birds now nesting throughout the DNR lands around us.

Full cost is • $45 general. • $40 per additional friend/family member. • $35 if you attended this workshop with us in the past. You can pay your balance upon arrival. Thanks!

Our weekend workshops are designed for adults, but youth are also welcome to register with an enrolled parent or guardian. Directions to meeting location and carpooling information will be provided upon registration. If you have any other questions, you can always send us an email.

Credit/Debit Card Registration Option: Just call us at 253-604-4681 or 425-248-0253 and we will run your card securely over the phone.

Check/Mail Registration Option: Send payment in full or a minimum $45 per person check deposit payable to the Wolf College, 1026 14th St. SW, Puyallup WA 98371 along with a completed registration form. Balances will be due upon arrival at the workshop.

Preparatory Information

Please prepare as you normally would for a hike, including snacks, lunch, water bottle, 10 essentials, etc., but especially with extra warm clothing and rain gear:) Also, bring along a set of binoculars, and if you don’t have a birding field guide yet and wish to purchase one, we recommend: The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America or Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Western North America. Either will serve you well. Personally, Kim is a long-time Peterson user whereas Chris prefers Golden’s Bird’s of North America: A Guide to Field Identification.

]]>tag:meetup.com,2002-06-04:www.meetup.com/hiking-and-geocaching/events/atom/222137552/2015-05-09T11:47:27-04:00NORTHWEST NATURE Hikes in the North Cascades & Olympics

Join Wolf College instructors Kim & Chris Chisholm for a great day trailing animals at the foot of Mt. Rainier.

Whether you hunt with a camera, bow or gun, or if you just love northwest wildlife conservation, you are welcome you to join us for a special day of tracking. Learn specialized trailing skills as we safely venture to get close to elk, deer, and a host of other critters.

• $65 general. • $60 for a second friend/family member, or if you attended one of our introductory afternoon or evening wildlife classes, or have earned a Level I Cybertracker Certificate, or if you are a local property owner in the area where we are running the workshop, or if you are a current conservation volunteer such as with Wolf Haven or the Sierra Club. • $55 for a third friend/family member, or if you attended a previous wildlife tracking workshops with us, or if you have earned a Level II Cybertracker Certificate,or if you have a current SAR ID Card. • $50 for a fourth friend/family member, or if you attended two previous wildlife tracking workshops with us, or if you have earned a Level III Cybertracker Certificate, or if you have a Master Hunters License. • $45 per additional friend/family member, or if you covered this subject at one of our camps/expeditions, or attended three previous wildlife tracking workshops with us.

Registration: Who & How

Our weekend workshops are designed for adults, but youth are also welcome to register with an enrolled parent or guardian. Directions to meeting location and carpooling information will be provided upon registration. If you have any other questions, you can always send us an email.

Credit/Debit Card Registration Option: Just call us at 253-604-4681 or 425-248-0253 and we will run your card securely over the phone.

Check/Mail Registration Option: Send payment in full or a minimum $45 per person check deposit payable to the Wolf College, 1026 14th St. SW, Puyallup WA 98371 along with a completed registration form. Balances will be due upon arrival at the workshop.

]]>tag:meetup.com,2002-06-04:www.meetup.com/hiking-and-geocaching/events/atom/222136034/2015-05-16T13:31:43-04:00NORTHWEST NATURE Hikes in the North Cascades & Olympics

Join Wolf College instructors Kim & Chris Chisholm for a great day looking for sign of bears. Please see below for recommended contribution levels. Thanks!

In addition to learning what to do in case you run into bears on the trail, you will gain skills to help you become the first to know where to find (or avoid) their hidden dens. We’ll check out some of the most classic examples of bears denning in hollow, burned-out, old-growth tree snags where mother bears recently emerged with their cubs, then pick up the freshest sign and follow it in hopes of catching a glimpse of bears in an area with a dense bear populations due to neighboring National Park protections.

• $65 general. • $60 for a second friend/family member, or if you attended one of our introductory afternoon or evening wildlife classes, or have earned a Level I Cybertracker Certificate, or if you are a local property owner in the area where we are running the workshop, or if you are a current conservation volunteer such as with Wolf Haven or the Sierra Club. • $55 for a third friend/family member, or if you attended a previous wildlife tracking workshops with us, or if you have earned a Level II Cybertracker Certificate,or if you have a current SAR ID Card. • $50 for a fourth friend/family member, or if you attended two previous wildlife tracking workshops with us, or if you have earned a Level III Cybertracker Certificate, or if you have a Master Hunters License. • $45 per additional friend/family member, or if you covered this subject at one of our camps/expeditions, or attended three previous wildlife tracking workshops with us.

Registration: Who & How

Our weekend workshops are designed for adults, but youth are also welcome to register with an enrolled parent or guardian. Directions to meeting location and carpooling information will be provided upon registration. If you have any other questions, you can always send us an email.

Credit/Debit Card Registration Option: Just call us at 253-604-4681 or 425-248-0253 and we will run your card securely over the phone.

Check/Mail Registration Option: Send donation payable to the Wolf College, 1026 14th St. SW, Puyallup WA 98371 along with a completed registration form. Balances will be due upon arrival at the workshop.